Scripture Introduction
153. They remained on their boat through the night, as was common. Day broke with nothing to show for their effort. Suddenly a mysterious voice shouts: “Cast out to the right,” and the net is so filled they cannot haul it into the boat. After struggling to bring it ashore, someone counts the fish – 153, a detail (if you will pardon the pun) which has spawned many fishy explanations.
153 is the “triangular number” of 17; in other words, 1+2+3+4+5…+17=153. They are called “triangular” because they are the number of points in an equilateral triangle evenly filled with points.
[Drawings showing Triangler Numbers]
Christians noted this mathematical odity at least as early as Augustine, who wrote around AD 400. He said 153 fish were caught because “the seventeenth [153 is the triangular number of 17] Psalm is the only one which is given complete in the book of Kings, because it signifies that kingdom in which we shall have no enemy.” So by catching 153 fish, Jesus shows us that in the resurrection and by the defeat of death, his kingdom now has no more enemies (Letter 40, chapter 17, section 31, “Replies to Questions of Januarius”). Augustine also thought it significant that 153 is “the number 50, three times multiplied, with the addition of three more (the symbol of the Trinity) to make the holy mystery more apparent” (ibid).
Others during church history also have seen mysterious significance in the number. Jerome (who translated the Bible into Latin, the language of the Roman empire), believed that the 153 fish point us to Ezekiel’s life-giving river. Ezekiel 47.10b says that in this river (the life-giving river flowing from the new temple), “its fish will be of very many kinds.” Jerome then cites the naturalist Oppian who supposedly said that there were 153 different species of fish, and claims that Jesus caused one of each species to fill the net.
A different idea also is connected to Ezekiel 47.10, but to the first half of the verse, which reads: “Fishermen will stand beside the sea. From Engedi to Eneglaim it will be a place for the spreading of nets.” Based on a 12th century mystical Hebrew tradition known as Kabala, numbers can be substituted for letters of the Hebrew alphabet, providing new insights to the text. Based on this system, called, “gematria,” [guh-MEY-tree-uh], it is proposed that “en-” is a prefix on both “Engedi” and “Eneglaim” meaning “spring,” leaving Gedi and Eglaim. And the gematria for Gedi is 17 and for Eglaim is 153.
The numerical relationship between 153 and 17 has also been seen as important because 17=10+7 and there are 10 commandments and a 7-fold Spirit of God (Revelation 1.4). Another commentator saw a connection at the feeding of the 5000, where five loaves of bread ended up with 12 baskets of scraps, and 5+12=17, and 153 is the triangular number of 17, so the catch of fish is about communion. Someone else said that 153 is “the number for the words, ‘the church of love,’ written in Hebrew” (quoted in Carson, 673). Andrew Knowles (The Bible Guide) claims, “The Jews of these days believe there are 153 nations in the world.” And one of my favorites suggests that 153 refers to the 153,600 resident aliens who were received into the kingdom in Solomon’s day (2Chronicles 2.17).
Those are fun (some funny), but such allegorical fish stories do not accurately pull the meaning from the text. There is meaning, however, which will seek to explore today as we read and study John 21.1-14.
[Read John 21.1-14. Pray.]
Introduction
Last week we were with the disciples on a Sunday evening when Jesus showed his hands and side to “Doubting Thomas.” This verification that he had indeed risen from the dead proved Christ’s deity and showed Thomas at once that all he had said was true. He responded: “My Lord and my God” (John 20.28).
That profession of faith is the high point of John’s gospel. He wrote this accurate testimony so that you will come to the same conclusion as Thomas and make the same profession of faith. The story is finished, then, with the last words of John 20: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” Today we would add, “The End,” but even without the phrase, we feel that we have arrived at the goal, the tale is complete.
In fact, so obvious is the literary end at John 20.31 that critical scholars speculate about who wrote chapter 21, and how they managed to get it stuck onto John’s book! Every Greek manuscript includes chapter 21, but how does it fit? The answer is that John 21 provides an epilogue to balance the prologue, tie up loose ends, and point the disciples and the church forward.
John explains God’s good news between chapter 1 verse 19 and chapter 20 verse 31. But as any great author knows, your characters cannot drop out of space into your story, nor should they leave as abruptly. John’s prologue connects the good news to the beginning of creation and the eternity of God; his epilogue points forward to the continuing work of Jesus through the church. In a sense catching fish is anticlimactic now that God has broken into space and time, suffered and died, and redeemed his people from sin and damnation! But it is also where we live – the day-to-day working out of faith, depending on the grace of Jesus and the power of the Spirit.
All good stories end this way. The climax of The Lord of the Rings is the combination of the ring’s return to the fiery pit of Mt. Doom and the enthronement of Aragorn. But Tolkien’s epilogue provides the necessary satisfaction of moving the characters past the moment of culmination toward the rest of their lives. Lewis does the same in Narnia: after Aslan raises the dead, separates everyone in the final judgment, and closes the door on this created world, we travel with the characters further up and farther in, so that we glimpse the future.
God provides a similar conclusion to the gospel. The good news culminates with the death of death in the resurrection of Christ. Now we live out the effects of Jesus’ enthronement. And John 21 starts us on that process.
The events themselves are fairly straightforward. The disciples are not quite sure what to do now that Christ is risen from the dead. But the angel said to go to Galilee, so they return there and set out on the first order of business: survival. They must work to eat.
They stay on the lake all night, but catch nothing. They probably talked, dozed, and wondered what was next, as they cast and checked their nets. Dawn arrives with a voice calling from the shore: “Hey son – the fish are starboard.” (In his commentary, Donald Carson, a Professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, says that if you have not yet had the “delight” of catching nothing and hearing advice such as, “Maybe you ought to cast over there,” you should take his children with you on your next fishing trip.) We do not know if the disciples obeyed the stranger because they were desperate, or they entertained some hope that he knew something, or they were too tired to argue, or some mystical power from God compelled them – what we do know is that they cast and caught!
Then we see the personalities of John and Peter distinguished in their reactions: John (as usual) understands first: “It is the Lord!” Peter (as usual) acts first: jumps in the sea and wades/swims to shore. The rest wrestle the nets to shore, where Jesus has already cooked some fish and now adds some of their new catch. One of the men says, “How many fish do you think we have?” and so they count and discover 153. And they ate breakfast with the Lord.
I believe (as with much that Jesus did and said while he was here) that this is an acted parable. The facts are plain – the meaning is derived from consider why the Lord revealed himself in the ways he did. Please note these three lessons which God has for us this morning.
1. We Must Accept the Proofs of Christ’s Resurrection (John 21.12b-14)
Lest we think that the frightened disciples imagined Jesus appearing with them behind locked doors a week or two earlier, or that they saw some ghost, John tells us of a meeting in broad daylight, out in the open, eating, drinking and talking. This is not an hallucination borne in dark shadows by senses heightened from nerves. Those fears are left behind. Here is a plain, simple, calm, and clear testimony. In fact, in Acts 10, Peter uses this same event as proof to Cornelius of the truth of the Gospel: “God raised him on the third day and made him to appear…to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead” (Acts 10.40-41). The whole of Christianity hinges on the resurrection – let none vainly suppose that the proofs are meager. God provides ample evidence to call you to faith and to sustain you in the fight of perseverance.
2. We Must Allow for Different Responses to God’s Presence and Call
John and Peter are both true disciples, they both love Jesus, they both believe the gospel, they both are godly men. Yet their responses are different, though not unexpected. John – the disciples whom Jesus loved – responds with spiritual sensitivity and discernment. He sees first – he recognizes the resurrected Jesus in the over-laden nets. He perceives truth and understands implications – John is the thoughtful, sensitive scholar. Impetuous Peter jumps in the lake – but you knew he would. He responds first and most visibly – his fiery temperament and impulsive nature combine to cast him into the sea to race to see his friend and lord.
We need to improve in making room for a variety of responses to God’s working in people’s lives. Martha served; Mary meditated on Jesus’ teaching while sitting at his feet. But at the death of their brother, Mary seems crushed by her sorrow while Martha’s faith remains strong. Both loved God and in their own ways brought glory to God.
The church has many divisions and denominations. Some of those, no doubt, are necessary results of false teachings and unbiblical doctrines. Some, however, rise from differences in temperament and personality. Let us make every effort to make room for every true believer. Let us not be overly critical of those who express their faith differently than we might prefer. Like the distinct notes of a musical chord, God designed his church to harmonize different gifts and callings, not to unitize.
I have seen Christians divided when one uses the word, “lucky,” or someone says, “The Lord told me to do so and so.” Rather than listen to what these sisters or brothers are saying, we may quickly cut them off and criticize their wording. Surely there is room for improvement – but our rule must be the Bible’s: “Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 6.24).
3. We Must Labor in the Strength Which God Provides
I am convinced that this event, as with everything that Jesus did, teaches spiritual truths in an lived parable. I agree with Dr. James Boice, longtime pastor at Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia: “These verses emphasize the postresurrection ministry of the Lord in which he now rules his church and directs its members in their Christian growth and service. It would be proper to call this last chapter a pageant. It is history – the events and conversations really happened – but it is symbolic history by which the essential principles concerning Christ’s rule over the church during this age are forcefully communicated” (1624). And the key principle Christ illustrates is the necessity of ministry in God’s strength and not our own.
Many of you know the verse, even if you have forgotten that the angel came to Zechariah in chapter four and showed him a vision and said, “‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts” (Zechariah 4.6). This is precisely the lesson pressed on the disciples in the boat. They went to Galilee, as instructed, and waited. Peter says, “I’m going fishing.” There is nothing wrong with that and the others say, “Wait up; I’m going too.”
But since Jesus used fishing as a symbol for evangelism (“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4.19)) and since these are the churches first evangelists, Jesus turns this trip into a lived lesson on spiritual power. They fish all night, wherever they think best, tired and hungry and eager for a catch. But have nothing. Then they hear and heed the voice of Jesus, and they bring in more than they can handle.
I love the song, “Grace Alone,” by Scott Wesley Brown: “Every promise we can make / Every prayer and step of faith / Every difference we can make / Is only by His grace / Every soul we long to reach / Every heart we hope to teach / Everywhere we share His peace / Is only by His grace / Grace alone which God supplies / Strength unknown He will provide / Christ in us, our cornerstone / We will go forth in grace alone.”
This is the lesson of the 153 fish. Not the mystical triangulation of 17, but the profound spiritual truth that apart God we can do nothing. And I believe the people of God need to hear this lesson! Every day the Devil, labors to lead us to complete in the flesh what was begun by the Spirit. But to do so is foolish!
During Sunday school the last months, we have considered the call of God to take Christ’s living water out into our community. I am delighted that you have so often prioritized prayer in the ministry of evangelism.
Charles Spurgeon agrees. To exhort the congregation to pray, he preached: “Shall I give you yet another reason why you should pray? I have preached my very heart out. I could not say any more than I have said. Will not your prayers accomplish that which my preaching fails to do? Is it not likely that the Church has been putting forth its preaching hand but not its praying hand? Oh dear friends! Let us agonize in prayer.”
I tell you the truth – we have learned the meaning of the 153 when we pray more than we talk about praying, and when we speak about Christ to our friends as much as we pray to Christ about our friends.
4. Conclusion
As you depend on the Lord’s strength, please do not miss the provision of verse 12: “Come and have breakfast.” This is a New Testament equivalent of Psalm 50.15: “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”
Christ did not come to be served but to serve. Yes, we have a work to do in evangelism. But not because God is desperate for volunteers to join his team. We have a work to do because when we fish for people, God serves us. The calling is his, the conviction is from him, the faith is his gift, and the message is his gospel. From first to last it is all of God and all of grace. And he will provide.
When these men hear and heed, Christ serves breakfast. But more, he illustrates how God provides our every need. When we listen to his voice and obey his mandate to make disciples, he will provide. Let us test him in this, and find him faithful in all things.
